1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to athletic boots and more particularly it concerns a novel, molded athletic boot construction wherein an insert of cloth-like material is embedded or encapsulated in the material of the boot to provide strength and rigidity in selected regions without adding significantly to the weight or thickness of the boot material. The novel boot construction of the present invention is especially suited for ski boots and skate boots, such as boots for hockey skates.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Athletic boots have previously been molded of synthetic materials such as polyurethane rubber. These molded boots require additional support in certain regions of the boot to provide sufficient stiffness and rigidity. Accordingly, some prior art molded boots had regions that were built up in thickness to provide this needed extra support. Such construction made the boot excessively heavy and bulky. Other prior art molded boots used a separate insert element made from a rigid plastic, mechanically fastened within a molded outer shell. One arrangement for fastening the insert element to the outer shell is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,062. According to that patent apertures are formed at selected locations in the insert element and the outer shell is molded around the insert element so that the material of the outer shell flows into the apertures to lock the insert and shell together. This arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that the reinforcing insert applies maximum stiffness adjacent the foot of the wearer and therefore it is uncomfortable to wear. Also the mechanical interlocks between the boot and the insert are subject to very high stresses. Moreover, the strain produced in the boot shell is not evenly transmitted to the insert.